I’ve been spending a lot of time recently with a young man who’s on a difficult journey. He wants everyone to learn from his experiences. Everyone. He’s doing his best to be vulnerable and transparent. He’s not looking for attention—I believe he genuinely wants to help. I’ve been talking about “Stories Worth Telling,” advancing the […]
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Hope: Stories Worth Telling Part 2
I believe your story might be your greatest gift. We all live in stories. God reveals Himself through stories. Your particular story incorporates a unique combination of experiences and relationships. It’s a gift, and the highest use for any gift is to enjoy it and share it in service to others. This is #2 in […]
Continue readingMore TagHow Important Is Right Theology?
Does theology matter? Short answer—yes, of course theology matters. Do I believe that some elements of Christian theology are black-and-white, right-or-wrong? Yes, I do, though I imagine we might disagree on some of them. (What’s Your Theology?) That said, I’m wondering how many folks encounter Jesus by reading a theology book. My guess would be […]
Continue readingMore TagHow To Know What’s Right
Do you ever have trouble knowing the right thing to do? I’ve recently listened to a number of presentations by a very smart man about “discernment.” I won’t name the speaker because I’m not certain I understood exactly what he said and I don’t want to misrepresent his position. Basically, here’s what I heard: There’s […]
Continue readingMore TagHow To Relate In Abundance
“None of us can identify with what you’ve been through.” I hear that a lot when I speak to groups. The speaker implies that my experience is so uniquely horrific that most folks simply can’t relate. But it goes a step further—somehow, my loss is “worse” than anything most other folks have experienced. I don’t […]
Continue readingMore TagBiblical Building Codes
Note: This article is semi-serious and semi-sarcastic. Discern carefully and with a bit of humor. Do you know anyone who uses scripture like a weapon? Occasionally you encounter someone who carries around their memorized verses like a quiver of arrows. They pull them out to support political positions, social preferences, and just about any opinion […]
Continue readingMore TagHow To Combat Burnout
Do you have a purpose? A sense of purpose is absolutely essential to any great endeavor. People will stretch the limits of endurance and sacrifice for a purpose in which they believe. I’d like to look a bit deeper at the notion of Tending The Flame. You can read the entire story by clicking the […]
Continue readingMore TagGod And Creativity
**This article is a re-post from April 24, 2009. I’m re-visiting the archives while my wife and I enjoy a few days of vacation. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. Albert Einstein. I’ve been thinking a bit (an unusual and dangerous development) about the notion of overcoming adversity. As a paraplegic, I’m often asked […]
Continue readingMore TagWho’s Running The Show?
**This article is a re-post from March 9, 2009. I’m re-visiting the archives while my wife and I enjoy a few days of vacation. Do you ever get the feeling that you’re somehow supposed to be in charge? Occasionally I let myself get overwhelmed by the awesome responsibility of representing Christ in the world. When […]
Continue readingMore TagReflecting Jesus
What do you reflect to the people you encounter? I read an interesting study comparing two classes of fifth graders. One class heard several messages about the problems associated with litter. They saw pictures of ugly, littered landscapes and wrote essays about the importance of not littering. The other class heard from a variety of […]
Continue readingMore TagLeft, Right, Or Something Else?
Which are you—left, right, or somewhere in the middle? We’re apparently programmed to think of nearly every aspect of our lives in terms of a linear continuum. Politics provides the most obvious example. Left/right, liberal/conservative, red/blue. While most of us don’t reside at an extreme, we’re certainly conditioned to think of ourselves at least on […]
Continue readingMore TagWhy Am I Here?
Why am I here? Whenever I talk to a group, I usually begin with some version of that question. Yesterday I visited a group of middle school students. Their answers reinforced my conviction that I always learn more from kids than they learn from me.
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